By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos
In Orthodox teaching we speak of so-called liturgical or condensed time. This describes time transformed by Divine Grace....
We experience so-called liturgical time in the great mystery of the Divine Liturgy, in which we come into direct personal contact with the events of the past while at the same time experiencing even the future....
Exceeding time is achieved with prayer, which is closely linked with the Divine Eucharist, since in Orthodox Tradition we cannot separate the Divine Liturgy from the prayer of the heart and ascetic living. Only then can we talk about individual prayer. When a person prays with great repentance and with purity of the nous, then they can sense that God has heard them and received them into eternity. And, of course, what prayer offers is communion with God, regardless of its fulfillment. That is, when we pray we are united with God and this is the great gift we receive, which is why we are not discouraged if our personal requests are not met.
A person who prays exceeds the torment of the tyranny of time, which for every person extends between their birth and their burial. They are liberated from its tyranny by sanctifying time and sanctifying themselves within it. Every moment for a Christian who prays is entrusted from eternity. When they struggle in prayer they are made worthy to experience such situations, which cannot be described, since there are no words that can transmit these blessed experiences.
Source: From the book Όσοι Πιστοί. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
